


The Alchemy of Love

by silasfinch



Category: Wayfarers Series - Becky Chambers
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Interspecies Romance, Post-Book(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 13:39:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10640949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silasfinch/pseuds/silasfinch
Summary: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”Or a 19th century Austrian- German mystical poetry meets a moment aboard the Wayfarer between Rosemary and Sissix - interspecies relationships are hard.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Youlookgoodinleather - volunteered to be my beta and has been unbelievably patient and diligent in editing my crimes against the English language.  
> Thanks to everyone who has written in this fandom :-)

**The Alchemy of Love**

 

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

**_Rainer Maria Rilke_ **

 

Rosemary was true to her word.

 

Sissix shouldn't have expected anything less from her. The Martian Colonist had the utmost respect for all cultures. This impulse went well beyond what was demanded of her as the Wayfarer’s clerk and even that of a volunteer interspecies archivist. Ashby and Kizzy were both convinced Rosemary was trying to atone for the sins of the father (Sissix’s understanding of Klip had failed on the details of this metaphor), but Sissix had assured them at length that Rosemary was simply both diligent and curious in equal measure.

 

Sissix did not add that Rosemary's most thorough field had been Aandrisk anatomy and endogenous zones followed closely by Hand - Speak after shift.

 

An incredibly apt pupil she was too.

 

She was almost Aandrisk like, direct in both her offers and requests.

 

A bright spot in the darkest of standards, If she had any talent for such things, there was the making of a folk epic.

 

Sissix reflected on this as she guided the ship into one of Port Coriol's many outposts. They were docking for several tendays to install the new bore and many accompanying upgrades. Each crewmember was responsible for overseeing their own area before they departed for mandatory leave. Dr. Chef had insisted on sourcing specialist private support for Jenks, but he trusted them to seek solace that was right for them.

 

For Sissix, it was the perfect time to accept the tet invitations blinking on her Scrib. Her regular companions were becoming increasingly bemused at her evasive answers.

 

_Except...._

 

Even with the far greater richness of the Aandrisk language, Sissix could not give a name to the conflict that was burning in her mind - it pained her like the beginning of particularly bad molting. Rosemary had given her expressed permission to follow this path, having had no desire to turn her more Human or less Aandrisk. It was simply a divergence in their path that they both knew would occur at regular intervals.

 

_Except...._

 

Rosemary had spent the last several nights in her quarters and had cheerfully made her excuses when Sissix had offered to continue her spacewalk training. The young human was also elsewhere when not on shift, even going so far as to agree to see Bathtub Strategy. Considering that the pilot knew Rosemary could not bear the acoustics – as she was more accustomed to enforced sound restrictions and safety considerations that were enforced in many colonies, Sissix was concerned. 

 

If she wasn't fully fledged and the in a position of responsibility on the ship Sissix would have broken a component of her station just to need a replacement order.

 

A pouch of Smash would prevent Kizzy from being too enraged.

 

"She is lying, you know. To herself more than anyone."

 

Sissix hissed at the unexpected comment and intrusion into her solitude, only to realise she was the one behind schedule, so she bit back her usual retort.

 

Corbin was leaning casually against the doorway, holding his daily algae reports. While they would never be close, their enforced confinement and proximity had yielded a grudging respect and kindness on both sides. This application was especially high when they both took on Ohan's care and rehabilitation, both having skills in flying and fueling ships, not repairing them. Their camaraderie was furthered still by several shared watches over a borderline suicidal - but still brilliant - Jenks. Corbin wore her feather with some pride, even though it was incongruous with his otherwise pristine clothing.

 

"What are you saying?" She hissed, giving the report a cursory glance before giving him her full, if somewhat begrudging, attention.

 

"Rosemary is lying. Trust me, I am an expert in self-denial and faking interpersonal satisfaction. The last thing Rosemary wants is you hopping from tet to tet for a cycle."

 

"That is none of your concern," Sissix interjected sharply, feeling exposed and vulnerable when subjected to the familiar mammalian superstitions.

 

"A, Rosemary is in charge of supplying the entire upgrade of the Algae Bay, and I need her focused. B, she intends to read Sinclair's ‘Algae Indexing’ and Ling's ‘Wormhole Theory’ over the break. I'm mentioned five times in the first, and it managed to put even me to sleep." He chuckled dryly." I'm not looking for an apprentice, and she isn't looking to become one."

 

He sighed as his third report downloaded completed "The Wayfarer is the domain of outcasts and freaks, who all barely fit the mold. Why are you trying to be a traditional Aandrisk right now, when you seem happiest listening to Rosemary ramble about the branches and declensions of Hanto? Aren't you people all about finding paths and freedom?” Corbin waved his hand, turning away suddenly, having exceeded his limit on socialising for the day, and possibly the tenday knowing him.

 

Sissix didn't offer a thank you.

 

He didn't expect one.

 

She did silently resolve to ease up on the thrusters, just a little, and maybe read his blighted reports.

 

 

 

+++

 

 

"Dr. Chef may need to impose limits on 'Boring Tea at the rate you are going"

 

Sissix had not entered The Fishbowl and approached the dining area quietly, but Rosemary still jumped - scattering both a pile of bug strips and the pixels suspended above her.

 

Ever in search of order Rosemary replaced her food and closed the fragmented feeds before addressing her. The smile would have been convincing had she not been able to smell the salt of unseen tears.

 

Sissix had almost reluctantly become a student of human clothing language. Kizzy had insisted on teaching her the basics after she had failed to compliment Rosemary's efforts during their first holiday together. For all the many times she had complained about human preoccupations there was something to be said for the way Rosemary broadcasted feelings with daily selections- most of them indirectly or directly for her benefit. The thick jumper (Kizzy's Papas) and fuzzy rainbow socks indicated a need for comfort.

 

"What are you doing here, Six? Thought you were heading own with Ashby and Kizzy? Rosemary endeavored a neutral tone, but her dark eyes were distant, and her hands absentmindedly traced patterns on the table - nonsense hand-speak if the pilot wasn't mistaken.

 

Sissix sat down beside her love, intercepting a hand that was tapping an anxious rhythm and bringing it to rest against a scaled cheek.

 

"I forgot one of the most important rules of Tet. It must bring absolute joy to all involved. I would be doing the ritual a disservice for I could not bear to leave you in pain, knowing I caused that pain. I suspect that I would enjoy Bathtub Strategy more."

 

Rosemary smiled faintly at the reference but seemed to be gathering herself to protest, but Sissix wanted to offer insights first.

 

"Yes our paths will separate us, but right now our feather harmony is far more important than momentary pleasure. Your heartbeat each night is far more soothing anyway" Sissix added some of the subtlest meanings in hand speak, but Rosemary seemed distracted by a determined effort to memorise her every feather by touch.

 

"The last thing I want to do is make you feel obligated. It wouldn't be fair to offer you one form of comfort while restricting others - even if it is merely by my strange mammalian notions meeting your compassion. My parents and childhood were defined and ultimately destroyed by perceived obligations. I don't want to that with us, selfishly." Rosemary murmured softly apparently caught between embarrassment and hurt pride.

 

Sissix hissed softly moving to twine her limbs around her companion.

 

"I am a very proud Aandrisk but I am not an overly conventional one nor has that ever been the case. There is a reason I am very boring to Hashkath's geologists, lover. I could have easily joined a home or colony ship or gone home every free Tenday. Wayfarer is home to an exiled Sianat, an illegal clone, a chef-doctor hybrid. Why not an Aandrisk with an evolving definition of love and companionship?

 

Rosemary hummed in acknowledgment as she buried herself closer against Sissix's lean form - having learned to enjoy the principles of overt displays of emotion. Their custom seats had long ago been moved to allow such touching, with varying degrees of subtly. The human needed comfort and had no problem asking for to receive it, even though they were in a shared space, close to meal time.

 

"Don't credit me with great nobility either - I could have joined those Tets and then some. You didn't make me stay any more than Ashby will insist Pei remain on the ship and raise a family with him. I can just to go anytime I want, but I can just as easily choose to stay" Sissix continued firmly" "You are allowed to express needs without obligations being attached. We are both fully fledged that means we talk, mmmm? I don't want to credit Corbin with any more social insights" the grumble didn't have any heat to it.

 

"Sounds perfect to me" Rosemary sighed in contentment.

 

"Now supply runs and soup shops have their place but how about I take you on a guided tour of the port, instead?. Sissix offered tenderly.

 

 

There several Interspecies Artifact Centres we could visit, and one of my favourite restaurants just sent their latest menu refresh. We can expand your bug plate to the best of the Aandrisk varieties. One of my hatch mates is a chief there, and I promised that I would barter for a few breeding pairs and samples " Sissix's valiant attempt to compile a list was abruptly sidetracked

 

Rosemary nodded enthusiastically - placing a series of kisses on every possible scale from her restricted if enjoyable vantage point.

 

"Weren't you also telling me about the Aandrisk's Artist colony that is due to open a couple's retreat?. I think Mylix Al Win was going to be demonstrating using scales as a canvas from amateur to advance in 5 styles. My mother paid a small fortune in art classes. I was an indifferent student, but I'm sure some pointers stuck, especially when proper motivation and incentive is offered."

 

Sissix shook with silent laughter - unfurling long limbs in open encouragement

 

"I also distinctly remember that clothing was optional throughout."

 

"Nib would applaud me for making the best of my learning opportunities," Rosemary affirmed as they untangled and moved into more proper seating arrangements for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
